Reading the wind: Charts and articles

[cz452shooter]

Here is some good information about reading the wind that I have gathered with a bit of research. Please note that your results are going to differ a bit from what the chart reads because of the range you shoot at. Each range is different, and each range all has its secrets, and the way the wind moves in each one is going to be different, but this will give you some idea of the generalal direction the wind is going to affect the bullet.

I always thought that shooting when the wind was blowing away from you or or right towards you was the easiest, but in fact, this wind can be some of the hardest to shoot in. If you will look at chart number 3, you can see that if the wind changes for 12 o'clock to 1 o'clock, there is a big difference in POI, so a lot of the time, shooting in a steady crosswind can actually be a lot easier. If the wind is blowing from say 3 o'clock, the difference in POI between either a 2 o'clock wind or a 4' oclock wind, is not a lot which is part of the reason which makes it easier.

Each chart does not have a specific wind speed, as this will affect all wind speeds the same way, except with larger and broader effects.

Chart #1 --- Each number (1, 2, 3, 4, ect) represents which way the wind is blowing from, weather it be blowing from 4 o'clock, or 12 o'clock. In reality, the results from this would more likely be bullets stretching from 4 o'clock to 10 o'clock

Chart #2 --- Preatty self Explanatory.

Chart #3 --- Again, preatty self explanatory. Each number represents which direction the wind is blowing from.

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And here is an article by a man named Tom Guerin called "Funamentals of Wind Doping". There are about 5 or 6 rules in all, and each is IMHO, worth reading.

http://team40x.com/wind/page11.html

Well hopefully you have learned something through this, as I know I sure did.

Regards,
Jordan

 

[reg]

What's a "Wind Probe?"

 

[cz452shooter]

What's a "Wind Probe?"

I believe its a device for measuring the speed of the wind

 

[Goose25]

I always thought that shooting when the wind was blowing away from you or or right towards you was the easiest, but in fact, this wind can be some of the hardest to shoot in. If you will look at chart number 3, you can see that if the wind changes for 12 o'clock to 1 o'clock, there is a big difference in POI, so a lot of the time, shooting in a steady crosswind can actually be a lot easier.

Good info
Thanks Jordan.

REG, Can we sticky this?

 

[Al Flipo]

###

 

[cz452shooter]

Jordan,
As you know, at our last shoot the wind was blowing from left to right at 20 yard from the bench, then from right to left at 50 yard, then going in circles at 75 yard, and then from left to right again at 100 yard.


Just kidding, good information and nice looking charts.

Thanks Alex

Yah that wind was some confusing stuff, and just when I thought I had things all figured out, I would hold off a bit and it would land in the 6 ring .

Next time I need to shoot more sighters though. I only shot 2 sighters for the whole match

BTW: I am trying to convince my dad to participate in the 100 yard matches. He said that in the future he will look at getting an anschutz (54) to compete down there

Jordan

 

[prosper]

That's really helpful, thanks!

 

[GrantR]

For something considerably more "Old Timey", here are the wind charts from my 1913
"Parker's Rifle Shot's Register" for the "service rifle" types of competition with the .303 Magazine
Lee-Enfield (i.e. "Long Lee") then held under U.K. National Rifle Association rules, at ranges out
to 1000 yards. (This data would actually date to about the mid-1890's, when cordite
replaced the original compressed black powder load of the .303 cartridge, and the
Metford-rifled barrel of the Lee-Metford rifle was changed to the Enfield-rifled barrel ...)

Wind strengths of "Light", "Moderate", "Fresh", "Strong", "Very Strong" and "Gale"
(and approximate appearance of wind flags for each), giving bullet movement in feet and
inches (and sight adjustments in minutes of angle) at standard ranges from 200 yards
up to 1000 yards. These charts apparently make no specific provision for elevation changes,
depending on wind angle, except the general indication that "Higher Elevation"
is required with a face-on wind and "Lower Elevation" for a following wind.

Note, for example, that a "Gale" force full crosswind would drift the bullet 27 feet
6 inches from point of aim at 1000 yards ...

(If you are interested, scans of the entire Register are posted on fellow Canuck Jay
Curragh's "The Lee-Enfield Rifle" website, here:
http://enfieldrifles.profusehost.net/pa.htm)

 

[Fall Guy]

What's a "Wind Probe?"

Here is the more involved answer:

"Briefly, the Wind Probe is a pendulum centered, single axis, vertical shaft, that rotates on ball bearings. The shaft sweeps through an arc each side of center on a graduated scale. You do not read wind direction and velocity with the Wind Probe: the probe reads those values for you, and combines them into a single value crosswind component".

 

[NormB]

Jordan.. You should sticky some of this....

Its worth a sticky

NormB

 

[cz452shooter]

Its worth a sticky

NormB

Thanks for the complement Norm

I would make it a sticky, but unfortunately I do not have the authority to do so. I think that would be up to either Reg or BCboy to do so...

Regards,
Jordan

 

[cz452shooter]

windflags

If you don't allready have some, you should make or purchase a few windflags. They can be very simple windflags, such as just a few pieces of construction tape, or more complex windflags, that you spend a lot of money on. Here is an example of one. Not mine exactly, but quite similart to mine.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d134/Tex223/Targets/ASC14July06_10.jpg

I will get some better pictures later

 

[cycbb486]

and here is a pic

of a windprobe.

http://www.benchrest.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2757&d=1137135969


Calvin

 

[cz452shooter]

btt

 

[reg]

Stuck, great thread, sorry for the delay I was having trouble with admin functions since the last CGN maintenance. Jordan you might want to save copies of these stuck threads as they sometimes get auto deleted in periodic maintenance.

 

[cz452shooter]

Thanks reg

I saved both the ballistic charts and the information from this thread to a Microsoft word file.

 

[maple_leaf_eh]

Thanks reg

I saved both the ballistic charts and the information from this thread to a Microsoft word file.

The place you'll need it is not at home after dark, but on the range in the rain. Try to find a way to make that information useful to you under match conditions. Laminated cards, notebook diagrams, XY graphs, etc

I have a few old DCRA windflag diagrams with click corrections around the clock, but the difficulty in shooting the wind is to instinctively know how much to crank on before the shot. Getting on the bubble to get the shot centred each and every time.

 

[ebruder]

So....

If you don't have a wind probe...

How do you estimate the speed of the wind?

EB

 

[cz452shooter]

Its preatty hard but if you have windflags (such as ribon) try to judge how fast they are moving (if they are perfectly horizontal then the winds moving fast where if they are at a 45 degree angel with the pole then its not to windy. You can also look at the grass or the trees, or any objects close by. I don't have a wind probe my self (but do have three windflags) but try to estimate as well as possible what the speed of the wind is. When the flags are horizontal and moving very fast I wait for the wind to slow down a bit.

 

[SSJChar]

the other day, i was shooting into the wind out to 60yards. the wind was around 28kmph. i know it shoots low at that point, but how low would it make it shoot? according to chart3, shooting into the wind makes the bullet wander less from the bullseye, but none of those charts really says the actual distance for a headon wind.